Arithmetic
(Signs of the Times is a work of fiction based on true events. Views expressed are the characters’ own. Viewer discretion is advised.)
The face of empathy research was stoic amidst the chaos of her office. There were thousands of papers she had published scattered about. Pictures from far away lands so starkly different from the book-lined walls of the university served as bookends on shelves.
The desk in front of her had four yellow legal pads with most of the pages tucked behind the binding. Duplicate tape dispensers, staplers, stress balls. The laptop sat atop a pile of textbooks. The professor stared directly across the madness straight at me.
“There’s something called the compassion equation,” she said. I nodded along, glancing up wide-eyed with raised brows. She continued
“Your ability to feel compassion equals psychic-numbing levels plus effects of pseudo-inefficiency plus prominence.”
“And how do you believe this factors into Ukraine?” I asked.
She smiled. Took her glasses off and placed them on the desk in front of her.
Bobbleheads of past presidents guarded one shelf behind her. Beside them was a grainy black and white picture of soldiers in combat. Stacks of manila folders occupy another shelf. Some books are arranged by color. Some by the author's last name. None by content.
“It has everything to do with the choices world leaders are making.
“Take Putin, for example. Here’s a guy who has spent the last thirty years compartmentalizing death. Specifically, death caused by his actions. He has to do that to do his job. He is psychically numb.
“There’s also an element of virtuous violence. He believes Russia’s state-sponsored violence is virtuous. Denazification of Ukraine. It’s a sham.”
“What about the Azov battalion?” I ask.
“The who?”
“The right-wing paramilitary group in southern Ukraine. They have confirmed ties to neo-nazis.”
“Have you ever sat down and talked with the good ol’ boys in Fort Benning? We’ve got plenty of neo-nazis in our own ranks.”
I nodded. She continued
“Putin believes himself to be justified in this war to create a new Russian Empire. The Union State, or whatever he calls it.”
“And what about the actions of other leaders?” I ask.
The professor looked behind her and grabbed the bobbleheads of past presidents. Clinton, Bush, Obama, Trump, Biden. Each of their heads knocked together as she corralled them in her hands. She placed them on the table.
“Each of these men watched hundreds of thousands of people die in conflicts all over the world.” She pushed Clinton in front of me. “Rwanda and Bosnia.” She pushed Bush forward. “Darfur.” She pushed Obama forward. “Yemen. Myanmar.” She pushed Trump forward. “Still Myanmar. Still Yemen.” She pushed Biden forward.
“And I assume Biden is for Ukraine,” I said.
“We will not intervene with boots on the ground in Ukraine because the threat to our own safety is too high. The prominence of U.S. security is too high. The only way to break that —”
“—Is if our security is no longer guaranteed,” I said.
“Pearl harbor.”
“Gulf of Tonkin false flag.”
“9/11.”
I scribbled notes while the bobbleheads rocked back and forth — perpetual grins on their faces cast in plastic or perhaps ceramic. Endlessly rocking to the ticking of a nuclear clock.
